Desert Bighorn Sheep: Another View
Hansen MC. 1982. Desert Bighorn Sheep: Another View. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 10(2):133-140
The present status of desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) resulted not from maladaptations to desert environments, but from environmental disturbances associated with modern man. The historical zoogeography of bighorn sheep suggests that desert bighorns may have been adapting to xeric environments for 100.000 years or more. Physiological adaptations include efficient mechanisms to disperse body heat, minimize heat gains, and withstand heat loading. Man has affected desert bighorn populations through loss of forage and water resources, direct disturbance, and the introduction of exotic competitors, disease, and parasites.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Hansen, Michael
- Units
- DEVA
- Keywords
- Absence (Biodiversity), Abundance (Biodiversity), Anthropogenic, Artiodactyla (Even-Toed Ungulates), Bovidae (Bovids), Distribution (Biodiversity), Habitat, Mammalia (Mammals), Management, Ovis canadensis (Bighorn Sheep), Physiology, Population Decline, Presence (Biodiversity), Taxa Links To Datasets, Taxa Links To References, Zoogeography